Here’s the link to their web cam.

We need your help with helping our neighbors.  We are in need of food items to be donated.  Below is a list of items that are still needed:

• 100 (5 lbs.) of Potatoes
• 90 #10 (Institutional size) Cans of Green Beans
• 90 #10 (Institutional size) Cans of Yams
• 2,000 Compartment Styrofoam Plates
• 2,000 Cups
• 2,000 Sets of Plastic Silverware

Instead of a donation of these food items, you can make a monitory donation for the purchase of the needed items.

If you, your church, your business or would like to make a donation of any of these items, please contact Beth Trussell at 423-355-4093 or nehemiahpro@aol.com

Consider volunteering!  Many volunteers are needed and is a great way for families to show someone the love of Christ in a practical way.

In addition to The Opera Show, the CSO is announcing a collaboration with the Chattanooga Ballet and the Chattanooga Theatre Centre to present Amahl and the Night Visitors annually, beginning in November 2010.

“The Opera Show is an amazing production featuring 4 singers, 5 dancers, and 8 costumed musicians. This touring production looks like opera’s greatest hits meets Cirque de Soleil”, said CSO Executive Director Molly Sasse. “It has incredibly elaborate costumes and staging and includes about 30 of everyone’s favorite arias.”

Attendees will experience an exclusive evening of costumes, dance, staging, and arias arranged throughout three acts. Highlights include Nessun Dorma, Queen of the Night, La Donne e Mobile, the Toreador Song and many more.

“We are presenting The Opera Show as a benefit to raise funds for new CSO Opera Fund,” said Ms. Sasse. “Half of the ticket price is a tax-deductible donation to the new fund. We realized during this past year that we could not afford to present opera in the manner which we had done for so many years without a substantial reserve before we even began to plan another production. Our goal is to raise $100,000 so that we can announce our next grand opera production. The Opera Show looked to us like a great vehicle to start the new CSO Opera Fund.”

The Opera Show will be preceded by a dinner celebrating opera’s great past in Chattanooga. Limited premium ticket and dinner packages are available. Ticket prices will range from $50 to $500.

In addition to The Opera Show, the CSO is working with Chattanooga Ballet and the Chattanooga Theatre Centre to create and stage an annual production of Giancarlo Menotti’s opera Amahl and the Night Visitors. Originally written for television in 1951, Amahl tells the story of the Three Wise Men who stop by a poor crippled boy’s home on their way to Bethlehem. The Chattanooga Theatre Centre will design the sets and costumes and provide stage direction for the production, while Chattanooga Ballet will choreograph and provide dancers for the shepherds’ dance.

“A local foundation has offered support for sets and costumes, so we feel very confident that we can mount this production locally in a fiscally responsible manner and bring our city a wonderful holiday treat. We’ll be offering public performances as well as daytime performances for school groups.”

CSO Music Director Robert Bernhardt, who has directed opera production in Chattanooga for the past sixteen years, expressed his pleasure in the upcoming productions.

“I have had an ever-increasing love affair with opera, and being involved in the production and performance of it has been enriching in every way,” states Maestro Robert Bernhardt. ”As you can imagine, bringing Opera back to the Tivoli has been a top priority for me and the staff of the CSO in these past several months. We have great plans for the future, but realize that the return must be financially viable, and most likely, gradual.”

“Our production of Amahl and the Night Visitors, a broad and wonderful collaboration with our Arts partners in Chattanooga, is another step in the inevitable and essential revival of Opera here, and I am delighted that we are beginning our journey back with such a beautiful and meaningful work. I’ve admired and loved Amahl and the Night Visitors for 30 years,” states Maestro Bernhardt. “Menotti’s masterpiece is a perfect gem, musically beautiful, challenging in performance, and overwhelmingly emotional and gratifying for the audience, and for all of us involved, for that matter. It’s also ideal as a first opera for children or adults. Its story is as affecting and fresh as it was 50 years ago, timeless in its message and direct in its musical language.”

Chattanooga Ballet General Director Bob Willie commented on the upcoming collaboration. “Chattanooga Ballet has a rich history of collaboration with the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera. Opera is the most complex and most beautiful of the performing arts forms as it encompasses symphonic music, voice, dance, and theatre,” said Mr. Willie. “We are honored to play a part in this collaborative effort between three of Chattanooga’s premiere arts organizations to keep professional opera a vibrant and integral part of the cultural offerings our community.”

“Since the decision was made by our board one year ago to suspend opera productions for the current season, we’ve been exploring lots of options to bring opera back to the CSO stage,” said CSO Executive Director Molly Sasse. Over the past year, opera patrons have come together to share possible solutions to keeping opera alive and well in Chattanooga. From collaborations with regional opera companies to the Opera in Cinema series at the Rave movie theatre, many possible solutions to keeping opera in Chattanooga have been explored.

“We had never raised funds just for opera since the merger of the Chattanooga Symphony and Chattanooga Opera in 1985. But the gap between what opera costs and what we can raise from ticket sales, even with sell-outs and top ticket prices of $87.00, is about $100,000. That’s why we’re launching the Opera Fund—when we raise that much, we’ll put on another grand opera. Meanwhile, we’re very excited about working with our partners to produce Amahl. We believe it’s going to be a great addition to the holiday line-up.”

“Opera has been an important part of Chattanooga’s rich arts heritage for many years,” states Dan Bowers, Allied Arts President. “It is unusual for a community our size to be able to sustain opera. I commend the CSO for their efforts to continue this wonderful Chattanooga tradition. Their thoughtful leadership is important to the future of opera in Chattanooga and to our entire arts community.”

“The CSO board debated at some length last year before we made the decision to postpone opera production for the current season while we explored new options to make opera more viable financially,” states CSO Board President, Susan Rich. “I’m happy to report that this time off from production is resulting in some truly innovative approaches to opera—especially the collaboration with Chattanooga Ballet and the Chattanooga Theatre Centre.”

CSO Mission The CSO produces a variety of exemplary live musical performances of symphony, opera and pops for a variety of audiences: orchestral music lovers as well as non-traditional and emerging audiences, including school students. In so doing, the CSO contributes to the education of our children, supports the regional economy, reinforces the cultural fabric of the community and enhances our overall quality of life.

There will be no shortages of festivities including a Car Show, free concessions, balloons and face painting for the children.  The only request is for people to drop off a toy to benefit our area children.  Volunteers will be manning several toy barrels that will be located on the parking lot of the school.

This event is sponsored by the Ooltewah Middle School PTA, J.J.’s Trophy, Food Lion and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office “Caring Cops Toy Drive.”

Come on out,  join the fun and help the children of Hamilton County have a Merry Christmas.

Rain date will December 5, 2009

The rally is set for Friday, Nov. 6 at 11:30 pm at The Hunter Museum of Art. Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield and Hamilton Mayor Claude Ramsey will also be on-hand to deliver a proclamation.

Thomas was chosen from over 9,000 submissions from 100 countries as one of the Top 10 CNN HEROES, which spotlights everyday citizens accomplishing extraordinary deeds, for his work with the Jordan Thomas Foundation, which has raised more than $400,000 to provide prosthetics for children in need.  Thomas will be awarded $25,000 – and is eligible for the $100,000 award that will be bestowed upon the CNN HERO OF THE YEAR later this month at a star-studded gala in Hollywood.

The public will select the CNN HERO OF THE YEAR via voting at the CNN Heroes site at www.CNN.com/Heroes through Wednesday, Nov. 18.  Hosted by CNNs Anderson Cooper and taped at the famed Kodak Theatre, CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE will air on Thanksgiving, November 26, at 9 pm ET.

An annual family boating trip to the Florida Keys took a bloody and life-changing turn for Jordan Thomas, who was 16 during the trip.  When he jumped into the water, the boats wake dragged Thomas hard into sharp, whirling propellers.  His father and mother, both doctors, jumped into action.  Thomas was rushed to a hospital, where he spent the next two weeks undergoing several surgeries on what was left of his legs and, along the way, discovering what would become his lifes work.

Thomas was fit with a top-of-the-line prosthetic and with a financially stable family, he knew he would always be able to afford good legs, but he learned this was not the case for other amputees, especially since most insurance companies will not cover the full cost of prosthetics.  So, the teenager launched the Jordan Thomas Foundation which has raised more than $400,000 through bracelets, charity gold tournaments and cookouts.

Participants will have a half an hour of on-shore instruction and then a half an hour of actual rowing on the Tennessee River in downtown Chattanooga.

Sign up times are every 30 minutes starting at 12 noon.  Lessons will take one hour: 30 minutes of on shore training, then 30 minutes on the water, rowing.  Participants should come dressed for a light workout; tight clothes are better than loose outfits.

Pre registration is required Online at www.headofthehooch.org. For more information contact LearnToRow09@gmail.com.

The Head of the Hooch, the 5,000 meter downriver head race that returns to Chattanooga for the fifth year Nov. 6-8, has now surpassed the Head of the Charles in Boston, MA as the largest single-day rowing regatta in the U.S.
The event will bring over 7,000 competitors to downtown Chattanooga’s Ross’ Landing on Sat., Nov. 7, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sun., Nov. 8 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The entire regatta is free and open to the public. Best viewing areas are Ross’ Landing, the Walnut St. Bridge, Coolidge Park, and the Tennessee Riverpark between the Bluff View and Boathouse Restaurant.

Rowing teams will stage upstream along the north shore and race downstream against the clock along the south shore. At Ross’ Landing, race officials will launch and recover a racing shell every 15 to 20 seconds at the height of competition.

New for 2009, the Chattanooga Market will set up a special Arts and Crafts market along Riverfront Parkway and Row for the Cure will offer tethered hot air balloon rides for better views of the action.

Sponsored by the Atlanta Rowing Club, and the Lookout Rowing Club, the Head of the Hooch is named for the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta, where the race originated in 1981. A head race is so-named because it runs from the “head” of a river. Three-mile-long head races are known for challenging rowing teams to navigate turns and river currents, as well as testing their speed.

At a ceremony held at the Market Street bridge, City Councilman Andre McGary, and RiverCity Corporation President Kim White introduced artist Daud Akhriev to a crowd of fellow artitsts, city representatives, art enthusiasts and the press.

Daud Akhriev was born in the former Soviet Union in 1959. He studied classical painting and drawing for 14 years, eight of them in St. Petersburg, Russia. In that city he received his master’s degree with honors from the Repin Institute under the tutelage of the late Piotr Fomin. In 1991 he immigrated to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and became a U.S. citizen.

Akhriev is trained in monumental public art and has four murals in Chattanooga: the Collegedale Seventh-Day Adventist Church, the Samaritan Center and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.

“Everyday we see the importance of having working smoke alarms.  In just the last two weeks, the Greater Chattanooga Area Red Cross assisted 37 people who suffered the devastating effects of a home fire with volunteers providing more than $6,000 in direct assistance,” said Barbara Alexander, executive director, Greater Chattanooga Area American Red Cross.

Members of the Red Cross Disaster Action Team and Youth Council will be working alongside the fire department and area realtors beginning at 10:00 AM on Saturday, October 31.  Red Cross volunteers will be handing out fire prevention packets and the fire department will be carrying ladders and going door to door with us to install the smoke alarms

Smoke alarms for the distribution were supplied through the generosity of the Chattanooga Association of Realtors.

Approximately 300 homes will be visited in an area bounded by Jersey Pike, Oakwood Drive, Rosemary Drive and Basswood Drive,” noted Fire Marshal David Brooks of the Chattanooga Fire Department.  “While our firefighters are busy helping those in the Washington Hills area, I would like to remind all residents that it’s important to check your smoke alarm’s batteries once a month by pushing the test button and to make sure you have smoke detectors on every level of your home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas.”

“In addition to having working smoke alarms, one of the easiest ways you can prepare is to develop and practice a home fire escape plan so that every family member can escape quickly and safely,” concluded Alexander.

The American Red Cross and the Chattanooga Fire Department offer the following recommendations regarding fire escape plans:

•        Family plans should include two ways to escape from every room in the home.
•        Practice your escape plan at least twice a year.
•        Select a safe location away from the home where your family can meet after escaping.
•        Consider purchasing and storing escape ladders for rooms above ground level and practice using them.
•        If you see smoke or fire in your first escape route, use your second way out.
•        If you must exit through smoke, crawl low under the smoke.
•        Before escaping through a closed door, feel the door before opening it. If it is warm, use your second escape route.
•        If smoke, heat or flames block both of your exit routes, stay in the room with the door closed.  Place a rolled towel underneath the door. Signal for help by waving a brightly colored cloth or shining a flashlight at the window.  If there is a telephone in the room, call the fire department and let them know your exact location inside the home.
•        Once you’ve escaped your home, stay out.

The American Red Cross depends on the generous support of the local community to help meet the needs of our neighbors who are affected by home fires.  You can help the Red Cross and donate to the local chapter by sending a check to Chattanooga Area Red Cross, 801 McCallie Ave, Chattanooga, TN  37403 or by visiting www.chattanoogaredcross.org/donate.

Here is their first tip:
Candidates for production team members at Volkswagen’s future Tennessee manufacturing facility must apply on-line from any computer with Internet access. There is no alternative than applying online. Candidates do not have to own a computer to be able to apply. They can apply from any other computer with Internet access. The application is short and in average will take 10 to 20 minutes to complete. It does not require
candidates to have knowledge on any special system or software. Online application will be open 24 hours a day during the period starting Monday, October 26, at 7:30 a.m. EST thru Midnight on Sunday, November 15, 2009. Applicants should go to www.vwjobschattanooga.com.

We’ll add each day’s tip of the day to this message. So, Check back often.

Tip of the Day Number Two:

Candidates who apply for production team member positions should be prepared for a
selection process that includes a full day assessment, including computer based and hands-on manufacturing simulators, an interview, a medical and drug screen and a background check.
The selection activity will go over several months as Volkswagen processes tens of thousands of applications that are expected from interested candidates.
Candidates should be patient as they are called into the different steps of the selection process.

Tip of the Day #3:

The selection activity will take place over several months as Volkswagen processes tens of thousands of applications that are expected from interested candidates.

Online application will be open 24 hours a day during the period starting Monday, October 26, at 7:30 a.m. EST thru Midnight on Sunday, November 15, 2009.

Here is the tip for Thursday:

Candidates who apply for production team member positions are not required to have previous automotive experience.

Candidates should be patient as they are called into the different steps of the selection process.

Here is the Friday/Weekend Tip of the Day:

The application line for Production Team Members will be open for 21 days. There is no advantage on applying either the first day or the last day.

Candidates interested on submitting an application for the Production Team Member openings, must apply on-line.

Final Tip of the Day:

The only way to apply is online!

More information about this and other openings is available on this same website.

Since the program started in July, bicycles have been given to 25 clients of the Community Kitchen. Each refurbished bike comes equipped with a light, a bell, a lock and a new helmet.  Clients then participate in a bicycle safety education class, which is taught by Outdoor Chattanooga staff.

“The program is going so well that we need more bikes,” says Chattanooga Bicycle Coordinator Philip Pugliese. “Many of the bicycles that we have now are designed for women or kids and they are not suitable for the mostly male clientele that we serve.”

Pugliese is asking for donations of men’s bicycles to give Pedal Power better mileage.

Pedal Power is funded by a $2,500 grant from the Art of Change program. The money is used to buy replacement parts and to fund the repair costs needed to make the donated bicycles street safe. “The more quality donated bicycles that we receive, the longer we can keep the program going,” adds Pugliese.

To keep costs low and distribute as many bicycles as possible, donated bicycles should be in need of minimal repairs.  Bikes with flat tires, worn cables and/or brake pads are inexpensive to fix. Bicycles with rust and other body damage, or that have extensive drive train damage cannot be affordably repaired.

Donations of men’s bicycles will be accepted at Outdoor Chattanooga, 200 River St., in Coolidge Park, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Mon. – Fri. To learn more, call (423) 643-6888 or email Philip Pugliese at ppugliese@outdoorchattanooga.com